


2014 X-Files Advent Calendar

by ScullyLovesQueequeg



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M, Incomplete, holiday fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-01
Updated: 2015-02-09
Packaged: 2018-03-11 10:47:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 14,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3324704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScullyLovesQueequeg/pseuds/ScullyLovesQueequeg
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of small snippets that tell a larger story of Mulder and Scully sharing Christmas together. My friend <a href="http://aliens-scully.tumblr.com/post/104131160818/the-xmas-files-holiday-countdown">Meg</a> came up with the idea, so I just went along with it. Rated T for language.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Listening to Christmas Carols

**Author's Note:**

> Try reading this as an entire work. Some of the "chapters" are very short.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mulder & Scully listen to Christmas carols on the radio.

Mulder was not a Christmas person. If one were to ask him what his plans for the holiday were, he would only shrug and mumble something about catching up on sleep. He never really ‘did’ anything for the holidays, and so he preferred to keep it that way.

That didn’t mean his partner was devoid of the holiday spirit, though. It was the only time of year that he felt she came to life more so than usual—she was more receptive to his jokes, more patient, more kind and understanding. 

 _It’s got to be a Christian thing…_ Mulder reasoned, as he watched Scully type up her report in the office. She seemed genuinely at peace with herself, and her work, and part of Mulder was annoyed because he felt that there was really no difference between Christmas, or any other time of the year. He knew better than to comment on her mood, or mention his irritable one, though it was apparent to anyone who cared to look that Mulder did not enjoy the holiday season.

So it stood to reason that he also was not fond of the music. It was just as well, because him and Scully could never agree on what kind of music to play while they drove in the car. It was on a particularly clear night that they found themselves coming back from closing a case in Pittsburgh. It was late, but quiet in the car, and so Scully took her chances and turned on the radio lowly. The effect was not immediate. In fact, she wondered if he had noticed at all. He did not respond negatively or positively, and so she left the radio on, murmuring Christmas music lowly as she drifted off to sleep.

When she woke up, she realized the radio was still on, but it seemed louder. She glanced over to look at Mulder, but she was surprised to find that he was singing along, lowly, to himself with the radio. That made her smile—she had not been under the impression that Mulder was much of a singer.  _In fact,_  she thought,  _I’ve never heard him sing before._

There was really no reason for them to have ever really burst out song like in a musical or something, but still, she recalled very distinctly, that she had never really heard him sing, not even part of a joke. She suspected that the reason was probably because of the way his voice had a tendency to crack at times—like the way it was doing at the moment, as he tried to nail down _Silent Night._  She realized he was probably not aware that she was listening to him, because he most likely would have stopped; it was  _ **terrible**_.

"Mulder, please," Scully said gently, sitting up proper. Mulder seemed genuinely surprised and immediately shut the radio off, and stopped singing. A silence fell over the car, and then—

"How much did you hear?"

"Enough to catch your rendition of Silent Night. I can see why you don’t sing." Scully jibed, though Mulder seemed genuinely rattled.

"I thought you were sleeping." His voice was on edge, like he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t’ve been doing.

"I was but I woke up," Scully gave him a shrug and leaned over to turn on the radio again. "I don’t mind if you sing. I’ll sing too."

Mulder shook his head. He had not taken his eyes off the road the entire time, but she could tell he was embarrassed. Scully, on the other hand was more amused and sleepy.

"No, it’s fine." He said, though that didn’t stop Scully from humming along to the radio.


	2. Wishlists

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mulder & Scully share their wishlist.

“I know you don’t celebrate Christmas, Mulder,” Scully started, as Mulder glanced up at her from his desk to protest, “or any holidays, for that matter, but I wanted you to look at something you might find amusing. I got an email from Skinner a couple of days back that said that this year we’re doing a Secret Santa gift exchange, so I took the liberty of submitting your name for you and mine as well, and it seems like he wants a list of 5 things you really want so your Secret Santa can pick something for you and get it. I think the maximum amount we’re allowed to spend is $30.” Scully said, holding the printed page out to Mulder. He scowled, but looked the paper over.

“Scully, I know you enjoy Christmas, but I just don’t. I appreciate your efforts to include me—I honestly do, and I’m really glad that you’re trying but I just don’t want to be part of the festivities. Christmastime for me is not one I associate with pleasant memories. I don’t really understand why you’re keen on having me partake in this.” Mulder said this carefully, and Scully frowned, her arms folded over her chest.

“Well Mulder, if you don’t do this, someone won’t have a gift. The exchange will be uneven, and you’ll still have a gift. That doesn’t sound fair.” Scully insisted and Mulder gave a small sigh.

“Alright. I’ll do this exchange. What do I have to do again?”

“I just need a list of the 5 things you want the most. I’m making mine too. Then Skinner will give you the name of the person who you’re buying a gift for and you pick one thing, and buy it for them.” Scully said taking a seat in the chair that was pushed near the desk. Mulder pulled out a page of scrap paper and began to write. Scully watched him for a moment before doing the same. After a couple of minutes, they both were finished, and handed exchanged lists.

“’Proof undeniable regarding the existence of UFOs’?, ‘An end to world hunger’, ‘A raise’…. Mulder, you can’t ask for these things, how is the person supposed to buy that for you?” Scully asked, putting his list back down on the desk. Mulder shrugged, though his smile was more impish in nature than content.

“’A set of cooking utensils’, ‘A new TV’, ‘Richard Gere’—Scully, your list is just as impractical as mine.” Mulder said looking up at Scully who refused to look at him very suddenly.

“Well, I don’t  _really_  want Richard Gere. Maybe George Clooney…” Scully said quietly, almost to herself. Mulder scoffed and handed her list back.

“I’ll just ask for a new radio, I guess. I got into a boxing match with mine a couple days ago.” Mulder said absently, though his tone implied he didn’t really care. Scully nodded, and moved for the telephone.

“I’ll tell Skinner, then.”


	3. Mistletoe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mulder doesn't know what mistletoe is for so Scully explains it.

“Scully, why did you hang a plant here?” Mulder mused, standing in the hallway and pointing up at it. Scully’s eyes went to follow his gesture and when she spotted it, she was glad that she hadn’t moved closer. She’d forgotten she had put it there.

“It’s a mistletoe,” Scully explained, heading for the kitchen to fix them something to eat. She looked in the fridge and cabinets, but nothing appealed to her. “It’s supposed to be a symbol of love and friendship and tradition says that if you and someone else pass under a mistletoe together, you’re supposed to kiss. My mother had a habit of hanging them around the house. Didn’t your family have any traditions for Christmas?”

Mulder mused on it for a couple more seconds before heading to the table to look over the open case files.

“Not really. I told you, Christmas doesn’t really have any fond memories for me. Just one. The one right before Samantha disappeared. There wasn’t really anything special about except we were all gathered under the tree and mom and dad weren’t fighting. That’s all, though.” Mulder said. His tone was indifferent, which suggested to Scully he was not in the mood to discuss it further. She filed this knowledge away and joined him at the table.

“So, what is your theory for what’s going on here?” Scully said, changing the subject and giving him a chance to get his mind off the holiday. Mulder was not jarred by the shift in topics.

“I think that while these people all exhibit the signs of being abducted, they weren’t. I think what we’re actually looking at is a mass hysteria—why are you looking at me like that?” Mulder asked, noting the look on Scully’s face.

“I never thought that I would hear you say those words. I’m just surprised. Sorry.”

He continued to prattle on about the case for a little while longer but eventually, he ran out of ideas and the pair of them sat in silence. Scully’s stomach was the first to break the silence with a low rumble.

“I should probably get going, it’s getting late and it’s apparent there isn’t much else to be done…” Mulder said, though there was a reluctance to his words that Scully had picked up on.

“Do you want to maybe grab some pizza and then go? We can eat it at the parlor.” She suggested, and he agreed.

Dinner with Mulder was something that Scully enjoyed because it gave her and Mulder time to talk about things unrelated to the case, although today, Mulder seemed to be more intrigued by the mistletoe.

“So if you get caught under one, you have to kiss the person you’re with? That is so strange. I’ve never heard of that before.” Mulder pondered aloud, as though it was a concept that Scully made it for the sole purpose of entertainment. It was entirely possible.

“A lot of people do it.” Scully said, crumpling her napkin and putting it down on her plate. Mulder picked her crust off the plate and nibbled on the end.

“Okay then, but why at Christmas?”

“I don’t know.” Scully said as she rose to go to the restroom. Mulder disposed of the trash on the table and did the same, heading for the men’s room.

Fate had a funny way of working out sometimes. Neither of them had noticed that the hallway they had used to get to the bathroom had a mistletoe hanging over it, but Scully spotted it when they both emerged from the bathroom. Mulder hadn’t noticed at all, but when Scully touched his arm, he stopped, waiting for her to tell him what she wanted.

“Look up.”

Mulder glanced up and when he spotted the plant, he froze. He was in no way opposed to kissing Scully—quite the contrary, but it had always been something he had never considered acting on. And there she was, waiting expectantly. He knew if he waited too long she would just laugh and walk away from him and the opportunity would be lost.

“We don’t have to kiss if you’d rather not,” Scully said quietly, her tone oddly intimate for such a public place. He could almost hear the disappointment in her voice but it was so minuscule that he thought he must have imagined it.

“No, I—” His tone matched hers, and he was surprised, because it was a subconscious response. When another patron moved past them to leave the bathroom, Mulder closed the space that was between him & Scully, and leaned in to kiss her on the cheek; it was a chaste thing, and she sighed softly in his ear. The sound gave him chills, and he realized, she was probably expecting something else. When he pulled away she gave him a smile that reminded him of his mother in the way she seemed to always be disappointed. Before he could address it, Scully started to go back to the booth.

“Scully, wait.” He wasn’t sure why his tone sounded so urgent; there was no real emergency but he had a sense of hurry because the window of opportunity was shrinking. His hand fell on her arm, and this time she looked over at him in genuine confusion. Before she could question him, he kissed her.

This one was not chaste.

His hand encircled her waist to hold her, and she was surprised, because she had not been expecting it. Her hands went to his chest to gently push him away, and he broke off the kiss.

“I’m—I’m sorry, I… I misread you, I got carried away.” He immediately apologized, his heart sinking and for a moment, frightened that he had somehow crossed a line. She was frozen in place, before she finally managed,

“You’re fine, Mulder.” She rubbed her forehead wearily, and silently, they headed back to their booth, hyper aware that everyone was now watching them. Scully was still in a state of shock and Mulder, regret. Finally, Scully stood.

“I need to go home.” Mulder stood up when she said that, and slid out the booth.

The walk home was painfully awkward and when they made it back to her apartment, Mulder gathered his things and the case files quietly. Scully was leaned against the wall, watching as he gathered his things.  She hesitated a moment before asking,

“How long were you holding that back?” Mulder glanced over at her, and noted that she looked fraught with worry.

“I’m sorry, I just got carried away. I didn’t mean to take advantage of you like that, and I can understand if you’re upset with me.”

“Mulder, I’m not upset with you. I’m just surprised,” She said, joining him at the table. She reached for his hands, and grasped them, her thumbs passing over his knuckles. Then she offered him a smile.

“I didn’t think you had that in you, that’s all. But it was nice. It’s been a while since I’ve been kissed like that.”


	4. Bundling for the Cold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mulder and Scully's case takes them up to the mountains.

Scully tied the scarf around Mulder’s neck, and tucked the loose ends into his jacket. He grumbled a little, and loosened it when she stepped back to marvel at her work.

“I think I did an excellent job,” Scully said, marveling her handiwork. Mulder grunted, but said nothing, because his mind was still on the kiss they shared the day prior. When he met her eyes, she glanced away quickly, as she had been doing the whole day.

“Thanks, Scully.”

A silence descended on them, and then Scully gave a small sigh, playing idly with Mulder’s coat. Unsure of what to do, Mulder took her hands which caused her to look up. She let his coat go and gave him some room.

“Sorry. I was just thinking. It’s really cold outside, you know?” Her parka was white and padded with goose down feathers. It also  had a faux fur lined hood, which was in contrast to his coat which was a heavy duty mountain coat. The pair of them were in jeans and casual clothes, presumably because they were going up to the mountains, to where the abductions they were investigating were supposedly happening.

“Yeah. Could be worse, though. Remember Alaska?”

“I try not to,” Scully said, recalling her fears concerning Mulder’s wellbeing.

“Yeah, well at least it’s not that. C’mon.” Mulder said, picking up their gear and leading the way. Scully followed in his wake, unfolding a map and trying to locate them.

 

When they arrived at the site Mulder had marked on the map, there was a ranger up there waiting for them.

“Agents Mulder and Scully, right? I’m Ranger Kazanski.” The ranger said, moving forward to greet them. He shook hands with the both of them.

“Now, you said you found the last victim not that far from here? Can you show us exactly where?” Mulder said, although Scully was only half listening. Her mind turned over the events of the day before. Mulder continued talking with the ranger but then they started to move, so Scully continued to follow, hanging onto the precipice of the conversation.

“…well what do  _you_  think—Agent Scully, was it?—about what Agent Mulder said?” The park ranger asked. Both Mulder and the ranger had stopped and were looking at her expectantly.

“Well, Agent Mulder thinks this is mass hysteria…” Scully said, stalling for time.

“Yes, I’m aware of that, but do you agree?” Scully glanced at Mulder who decided to look elsewhere at the moment.

“Yes, I’m inclined to agree… Even if it’s not a UFO though, we still need to investigate what’s been happening here.” Scully said, and Mulder nodded. The park ranger shrugged, but started to walk again.

 

The collection of evidence took a little over an hour and when Scully was satisfied, the ranger lead them back down the trail to where they’d parked. She was glad for the warm clothes she was wearing because it was really cold.

“Call me if anyone else turns up. And uh, do you think I can borrow all the missing persons cases for the last year?” Mulder asked. The ranger lead him inside the station while Scully waited inside of the car so she could warm up. Mulder was not gone long and returned with a box under his arm, which he chucked into the back seat along with his and Scully’s gear.

“So,” Mulder said, when he was finally situated in the car and ready to drive. Scully had removed her gloves and glanced over at him, though she couldn’t hold his gaze for very long.

“I was thinking about perhaps letting you decorate the office for Christmas since you’re into the holiday spirit.” Scully blinked, remembering the incident from the night before, and how Mulder had resisted to celebrating.

“If it makes you uncomfortable, I won’t. It’s your office, after all.” She said, staring out into the forest road.

“No, it’s  _our_  office. Yours and mine.” He said, though Scully laughed bitterly.

“It’s your name on the door, not mine. You’re the expert, the one with the desk, the agenda…” She let that accusation hang in the air, but the damage had already been done, and the next hour was a silent one. When he finally did speak, he said,

“It’s not an agenda. I’m not trying to dismantle the entire government. I’m not a revolutionary. I’m just passionate. Do you think I have a hidden agenda?”

“No, I think that you have lofty ideals that you need to perhaps be grounded every now and then. –Mulder, I’m not having this discussion with you.”

“Alright, but you can still decorate the office, if you want.”

“…Will you help me?” Her voice was quiet, intimate again, even though they were in the car, and he’d mentioned decorating the office. He wanted to say no, but he glanced over at her and she was looking him with the same look she had when she was watching him pack up the casefiles last night.

“…alright.”


	5. Decorating the Basement Office

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mulder starts coming around on the idea of Christmas and helps Scully to decorate the office.

Scully tied the scarf around Mulder’s neck, and tucked the loose ends into his jacket. He grumbled a little, and loosened it when she stepped back to marvel at her work.

“I think I did an excellent job,” Scully said, marveling her handiwork. Mulder grunted, but said nothing, because his mind was still on the kiss they shared the day prior. When he met her eyes, she glanced away quickly, as she had been doing the whole day.

“Thanks, Scully.”

A silence descended on them, and then Scully gave a small sigh, playing idly with Mulder’s coat. Unsure of what to do, Mulder took her hands which caused her to look up. She let his coat go and gave him some room.

“Sorry. I was just thinking. It’s really cold outside, you know?” Her parka was white and padded with goose down feathers. It also  had a faux fur lined hood, which was in contrast to his coat which was a heavy duty mountain coat. The pair of them were in jeans and casual clothes, presumably because they were going up to the mountains, to where the abductions they were investigating were supposedly happening.

“Yeah. Could be worse, though. Remember Alaska?”

“I try not to,” Scully said, recalling her fears concerning Mulder’s wellbeing.

“Yeah, well at least it’s not that. C’mon.” Mulder said, picking up their gear and leading the way. Scully followed in his wake, unfolding a map and trying to locate them.

 

When they arrived at the site Mulder had marked on the map, there was a ranger up there waiting for them.

“Agents Mulder and Scully, right? I’m Ranger Kazanski.” The ranger said, moving forward to greet them. He shook hands with the both of them.

“Now, you said you found the last victim not that far from here? Can you show us exactly where?” Mulder said, although Scully was only half listening. Her mind turned over the events of the day before. Mulder continued talking with the ranger but then they started to move, so Scully continued to follow, hanging onto the precipice of the conversation.

“…well what do  _you_  think—Agent Scully, was it?—about what Agent Mulder said?” The park ranger asked. Both Mulder and the ranger had stopped and were looking at her expectantly.

“Well, Agent Mulder thinks this is mass hysteria…” Scully said, stalling for time.

“Yes, I’m aware of that, but do you agree?” Scully glanced at Mulder who decided to look elsewhere at the moment.

“Yes, I’m inclined to agree… Even if it’s not a UFO though, we still need to investigate what’s been happening here.” Scully said, and Mulder nodded. The park ranger shrugged, but started to walk again.

 

The collection of evidence took a little over an hour and when Scully was satisfied, the ranger lead them back down the trail to where they’d parked. She was glad for the warm clothes she was wearing because it was really cold.

“Call me if anyone else turns up. And uh, do you think I can borrow all the missing persons cases for the last year?” Mulder asked. The ranger lead him inside the station while Scully waited inside of the car so she could warm up. Mulder was not gone long and returned with a box under his arm, which he chucked into the back seat along with his and Scully’s gear.

“So,” Mulder said, when he was finally situated in the car and ready to drive. Scully had removed her gloves and glanced over at him, though she couldn’t hold his gaze for very long.

“I was thinking about perhaps letting you decorate the office for Christmas since you’re into the holiday spirit.” Scully blinked, remembering the incident from the night before, and how Mulder had resisted to celebrating.

“If it makes you uncomfortable, I won’t. It’s your office, after all.” She said, staring out into the forest road.

“No, it’s  _our_  office. Yours and mine.” He said, though Scully laughed bitterly.

“It’s your name on the door, not mine. You’re the expert, the one with the desk, the agenda…” She let that accusation hang in the air, but the damage had already been done, and the next hour was a silent one. When he finally did speak, he said,

“It’s not an agenda. I’m not trying to dismantle the entire government. I’m not a revolutionary. I’m just passionate. Do you think I have a hidden agenda?”

“No, I think that you have lofty ideals that you need to perhaps be grounded every now and then. –Mulder, I’m not having this discussion with you.”

“Alright, but you can still decorate the office, if you want.”

“…Will you help me?” Her voice was quiet, intimate again, even though they were in the car, and he’d mentioned decorating the office. He wanted to say no, but he glanced over at her and she was looking him with the same look she had when she was watching him pack up the casefiles last night.

“…alright.”


	6. Walking in the snow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mulder & Scully decide to spend some time together, and take a walk in the park.

It wasn’t the first snowfall of the season, but it was the first that actually ended up sticking to the ground, and when Mulder walked out of his apartment building, the untouched snow was a dazzling white that made his eyes hurt.

The air was still and cold; it was the kind of cold that burned when you inhaled too deep, but it was clear enough that inhaling it was like drinking water. The still air made the soft crunching of snow underfoot sound like thunderous applause, and for a moment, he humored throwing himself in the mound that was just off to the side. It was something that he was sure that his partner did when she was younger. The thought was quickly replaced by the weight of the box he was carrying; he decided he was going to spend the day at the library doing research for the case they’d been given. He didn’t want to bother Scully in case she were spending time with herself, but part of him mused that if she were there with him, the work would go by faster.

When he made it to his car, he opened the door to find that Scully had left her hat behind. The sight elicited a smile, but he exchanged the box for the hat and took it with him to the front seat. He thought of dropping by to give her back her hat, but he decided against it and continued to the library. 

It was hitting 3 in the afternoon when Mulder decided to call it quits. He hadn’t discovered anything except that it was a not so well documented phenomena that people suddenly and inexplicably broke out into fits of mass hysteria, for no reason other than fear, though he was not sure that was the case in all of them. With a sigh, he carried the box back to his car.

He had forgotten about the hat, but there it was, resting in the seat Scully usually sat. Again he considered bringing it to her, but before he could reconsider, he started the drive into DC.

When he made it to her door, he hesitated before knocking gently. It took a moment, but finally she opened the door. She looked surprised to see Mulder at the door, but let him in regardless.

“Mulder, what are you doing here? Is everything okay?” Her tone was concerned, and she placed a hand on his arm in a worried manner.

“N-nothing, I uh—you left your hat in my car, so I thought I’d return it. I was in the neighborhood and uh, yeah…” He handed over the hat. Scully considered it, but it was obvious she was more touched by the gesture of him coming all the way out to Georgetown than the actual hat.

“Thank you Mulder, I didn’t even realize it was missing. I must have left it in your car when you dropped me off the other day…” She put the hat down on the back edge of the couch.

“Yeah, it was no big deal… So I’ll uh, see you Monday.” Mulder mumbled, turning to leave.

“Did you have lunch yet?” Her words caused him to stop and turn to face her.

“No, actually I haven’t, I was at the library and I was going over the case all morning. I’m stuck on it, you know? Something doesn’t seem right.”

“Well, if you’re not busy now, you should join me for lunch. I was going to make Mac and Cheese.”

“Well… alright, I could use a break.”

It was around 5 when they were finally done eating and conversing. They were both in good spirits, and for a minute, he forgot that he had the case to work on. Curiously enough, he rather spend the time with Scully then hunched over the files in the box.  _That’s strange; I usually prefer working than dealing with people… But being with her doesn’t feel like a stressful event._

“Hey… You know, it’s really cold outside but the snow’s pretty nice to look at. Do you uh, want to go for a walk?” Mulder was not sure where the question had come from, but it was already out in the air before he could take it back. Scully blinked and used her hand to move her hair so it was behind her ear before she answered:

“I’m not sure what your game is, but I’m sure you’ll tell me when it’s already too late for me to go home…”

“No, it’s not like that. I just—look forget I asked. It was stupid. I should get going, I’ve got errands to run…”

“I’ll go on a walk with you.” She said that quietly, and Mulder felt his heart pause. Under any other circumstance, he would have considered that he was sick, but he knew too well that it was an automatic response to the tone she used, and it caused him to lean closer.

“Okay, I’ll wait for you outside.” Mulder said, glancing over suspiciously at the mistletoe that hung in her hallway.

“I have a question for you,” Mulder asked, once they were both outside and walking towards the park. Scully didn’t answer, and he assumed she was waiting for the question.

“Why do you decorate your place if you’re hardly ever home and you live alone? The office, I get but not your apartment…” She still did not respond, so he let the silence persist between them until she finally said,

“Because it makes the apartment feel less lonely. It’s nice to come home to a nice looking place.”

“That’s fair.” He said, though this sounded empty to Scully. They continued in silence and crossed the street to reach the park.

“Now I have something to ask you,” Scully said, glancing over at her partner who was admiring the snow. He glanced at her and held her gaze.

“I really wanted to get a tree for my place, and I wanted to pick one out and cut it down, like how my parents did when we were kids. Are you really going to come with me to do it on Wednesday?” She asked. Mulder glanced down at the ground, imagining the two of them picking out a tree and decorating it, the way people did on TV. It would be their tree. That was a little too much commitment for Mulder, but the words sounded nice, and reminded him of a life he had once wanted.

“If you want me to, I’ll go. I’ll help you cut it down and bring it back home—I mean to your place.” He shrugged, but Scully caught the slip, and smiled to herself, as she turned to face the fallen snow. Mulder walked past her along the path, and she followed after him.

For a long time, they didn’t exchange any words. They didn’t really feel a need to. The lights in the park had already come on, and a silence befell the place. It was an eerie silence that Mulder and Scully had known too well. Still, it didn’t bother them, and when Mulder glanced at Scully to gauge her mood, he found that he’d been holding her hand. She glanced over at him, surprised by the development too, but she did not let go.

“It’s getting late. We should head back.” Mulder said.

“Do you want to get dinner?” Scully asked, perhaps a little too quickly, and Mulder gave her a soft chuckle.

“You’re going to get tired of my company, you know.” He joked, though she squeezed his hand gently.

“No, I think it’s already too late for that.” Mulder shrugged.

“If you say so. Dinner sounds good, how about we hit up the diner?” Mulder felt Scully squeezing his hand again for good measure before dropping it completely.

“Okay, that sounds good.”


	7. Scarves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mulder leaves his scarf at Scully's and finds himself back at her door.

Sunday morning saw Scully rolling out of bed, and immediately wishing to sleep more.

So she did that.

 Sunday afternoon saw Scully rolling out of bed, this time groggily wondering why no one had bothered to wake her up. The apartment was quiet and somewhat cold. She turned on the heat and padded her way to the bathroom to begin the day.

That is until she noticed that Mulder had left his scarf behind. It was a black a grey scarf with a pair of alien heads on the very bottom and an alternating pattern of UFOs and stars. It was an absolutely ugly scarf that she knew Mulder adored.

She decided to call him, taking the phone with her to the table and sinking into the seat. She used her free hand to rub the side of her face as she waited for Mulder to pick up his phone.

“Hello?”

“Mulder, it’s me. You left your scarf here.” She rotated her foot idly.

“Oh shit, you found it then! I thought I’d lost it. I hate to be a pain, but do you think you can bring it here to the library? Maybe you can stay and help me with this case, too.” Mulder mentioned, though Scully already had it in her mind to decline the offer.

“Nice try, I’ll just stop by your place later, call me when you’re home.” She said, though now it was Mulder’s turn to disagree.

“No, I’ll come over and pick it up, and bring dinner. To thank you. Is Chinese okay?”

“Mulder, it’s not a big deal, I can drive…”

“Yeah, but I’m already outside and if I know you well enough, you hate going out on Sunday’s. It’s okay. You don’t have to. I really don’t mind coming over.” Mulder said, and Scully felt relieved. Mulder was right, she hadn’t wanted to leave, though she knew it could have waited until tomorrow when they were at work. The thought of Mulder coming over with dinner was enough motivation to change out of her nightgown.

“Alright, I’ll see you in a bit.” Scully whispered quietly.

She wasn’t sure why having Mulder over almost every day made her feel as though she were doing something wrong. She kept telling herself that they were only friends and that Mulder was just lonely, as was she, but her mind went back to the kiss and yesterday’s walk.  Small voice on in her head dismissed the thoughts and let them go.

As he promised, Mulder came over with dinner. Usually, they ate in silence, but this time, Mulder broke that rule.

“You know, I’ve been doing a lot of digging, and it seems like the victims have one thing, besides the location and mass hysteria in common… they all have the same dentist, and have been to the dentist in the last 4 months. Scully, I think that’s the link.” Mulder asserted, using his fork to emphasize his point.

“What does that have to do with mass hysteria?” Scully asked, though her mind was elsewhere. Mulder paused, as though considering her, and then continued cautiously,

“I’m not sure, but I’m going to have to do some cross referencing to find out what procedures they all had done. I think that 7 victims, all of them over a period of 4 months, having the same dentist, and then having the same conditions? Scully, that’s one hell of a coincidence.”

Her interest was lost. His words were just tedium to her, and she tuned him out as he prattled on about the case. Every now and then, her eyes wandered to the scarf lying haphazardly on the back of her couch, and she wondered if maybe, Mulder had left it as an excuse to come back. She didn’t know Mulder to forget things.

“Mulder,” She interrupted, which he was explaining dentistry to her, “Did you really forget your scarf here, or did you leave it here?”

“—I…” He fell silent, his eyes lingering on his food a little too long. He pushed the Styrofoam carton away from him and stood. “Alright, yeah, I left it here purposely. I didn’t forget it. I really wanted an excuse to come over. What can I say, I was lonely. I hope you’re not upset with me.”

“No, I’m not upset. Just surprised. I enjoy your company, I just didn’t know you felt the same way. It means a lot to me that you enjoy coming here even though all we do is just talk, and sometimes, not even that.”

“Well, you know last night, when we came back from walking and uh, we watched that movie on TV? I had a good time.” His words implied a shrug was to follow, but he did not act on it, instead, closing the carton and going to deposit it in the trash. She watched him, paying close attention to the little details about him: the way his clothes were thrown on without a care, his hair being uncombed, the way his sweater was thrown over a t-shirt, and bore holes from a time gone by. All these details, like the scarf, painted a bigger picture of Mulder.

“This Christmas stuff is weird, it makes me feel funny, you know? Like indigestion. But it’s constant. My thoughts wander a lot, and I can’t focus.”

“What do you think about when your mind wanders?” Scully asked, turning in her chair to face him fully, with concern. He glanced over at her, almost shyly, but then glanced away mumbling,

“It’s not really important. Just stuff.” His tone was evasive, and when he went over to the sink to wash his hands, she got the impression he was just avoiding looking at her.

“Well, that’s kind of what Christmas is about—not really the gifts, but uh, the spirit of friendship, and love, and spreading that joy to others that you care about.” Scully said, getting up to deposit her own carton in the trash.

“Well, I’m pretty sure it’s heartburn then.” Mulder said, in a tone that was supposed to resemble relief. Scully didn’t buy it.

“Why’s what?”

“Well, I’ve been in love before and it’s supposed to be really painful and agonizing. This is just a mild inconvenience.” His tone was jocular, but Scully frowned at his admission and wondered if he realized how bad that sounded.


	8. Shopping For Presents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mulder and Scully go shopping for gifts.

“Fillings.”

The word hung in the air like the chill had that pervaded the office, and Scully tried to make sense of the word in context but her mind was just too tired, mentally going over the Secret Santa gift she had to buy.

“What about them?” She finally asked when it became apparent Mulder wasn’t going to share.

“They all have had fillings done in the last 4 months. I think the fillings have something to do with this.”

“I’m not following. How can a procedure as innocent as fillings be causing mass hysteria?”

“Well, humor me. Imagine that your body is one huge radio, except, there’s no antenna, so you aren’t getting signals. Well, with lead fillings, which contain just enough metal, and your saliva making conductivity possible—“

“Mulder, first of all, radios don’t work that way. Neither does the human body. Something like that just can’t happen.” Scully said, not willing to humor him.

“Tell that to my uncle Bert, he swore that on a good day, he could pick up a Dodger’s game. We’d put a cup in his mouth and you know, the reception wasn’t that bad.”

“That is absurd.”

“But it’s the only thing that makes sense.” Mulder said, moving from the desk and pacing in the office. Scully let out a sigh which caused Mulder to look over.

“What’s the matter?” His voice was low, his tone surprisingly intimate. If he noticed, he didn’t bother to change it. Scully didn’t know how to articulate her problem.

“It’s nothing, I have a lot on my mind, that’s all. I have to go Christmas shopping today, for my Secret Santa.”

“Oh, who did you get? I have Agent Izumi.”

“I know of her, she works on the BSU. I have Agent Sumler… I don’t really know him though.”

“I know him, that’s Ronnie. He spots me sometimes at the gym. Nice guy. Has a wife and two daughters. He plays basketball with me sometimes, too. For as long as I could remember, he complains to me that his wallet is all jacked up. In case you were looking for ideas.” Mulder mentioned, and Scully looked relieved.

“I wish I could tell you more about Agent Izumi, unfortunately, we aren’t that close. I can however suggest we go together because—and no offense to you Mulder—but you really cannot pick out gifts.”

Mulder gave her a shrug and took a seat in his chair behind the desk.

“Okay, so… The fillings? Will you at least humor me?” He asked and Scully nodded.

“The only way to test my theory is to go back to the mountain and bring a walking talkie. If it picks up the same broadcast, then we’ll know that I’m right.” Mulder said, and though this made little sense to Scully, she promised to humor him.

 

The afternoon was slow. Mulder drew a wiretapping assignment temporarily to fill in for Agent Blackwell, who was out with the flu, and Scully decided to go to Quantico for the afternoon to do research on dentistry.

When it was time for Scully to leave, she dropped her car off at her place and waited for Mulder to come pick her up. He came late, though he seemed slightly annoyed, too. When she climbed into the car, she soon discovered why.

“I passed the mall on my way here. Fucking packed.” He spat this out, almost venomously, and for a moment, Scully reconsidered asking him to come with her. Her doubt must have been evident in her features because immediately Mulder glanced over.

“Sorry. It’s not your fault. I’m not used to all this stuff. I can only imagine how it will be when I decide to get your gift…”

“Mulder, you don’t have to get me anything, I’m fine with celebrating with you.” Her tone was sincere, and it made Mulder’s chest tighten.

“What about your family?” Mulder asked. She didn’t answer. When he realized he was not going to get one, he started driving.

“Would you be okay with spending Christmas with me at my place? I know we spend a lot of time together but to be honest Mulder—and please don’t take this the wrong way, I really care about you—the thought of you being alone at Christmas makes me sad.”

“I—” He was ready to decline her but when he saw the look on her features, he sighed. “Whatever.”

She put her hand on his forearm, and this time he didn’t glance at her.

As Mulder predicted, the mall was packed. The amount of people irritated both Mulder and Scully but they managed to navigate the crowds. Scully remained close to Mulder, almost hanging off his elbow, and he cleared a path for her as they roamed the mall.

Scully took an unusually long amount of time looking at things, so Mulder was stuck perusing the aisles alongside her, showing her irrelevant and useless stuff. It was endearing, and while she would have normally been annoyed, instead, she was patient and even laughed a couple times. And when they were done, they ate together at the food court, Mulder telling Scully about Krampus, and Scully sharing with Mulder some of her family’s Christmas traditions.


	9. Snowball fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The agents have a snowball fight.

“I can’t believe I let you drag me here while it’s snowing, Mulder.”

Scully’s voice cut the silence of the space they occupied at the base of the mountain, and Mulder looked over at her, his cheeks pink from the cold wind and snow flurries that bit at the pair.

“I’m right about this.” Mulder said, determined not to let the weather or Scully stop him. He turned away from her and began the hike up the trial. With a heavy sigh, Scully followed after him.

“But what makes you so sure?” Scully asked, and Mulder responded over his shoulder,

“The same thing that is causing you to follow me and not stay with the car. Because in a strange and stupid way, it makes sense.”

“Stupid is right,” Scully murmured under her breath, but she continued after Mulder. She nearly walked into him when he stopped just up ahead, and she was about to question why, when he held the handheld transceiver up to his ear.

“Stay here, Scully. I’m going to check something out.” Mulder said, and before she could protest, he wandered off. Scully sighed, and remained where he left her, her eyes falling to the snow on the ground.

The first one missed her completely. It sailed over her head, and she didn’t notice it until it hit the tree behind her.

The second one hit her in the back of the head, and she blinked away the stars that pervaded her vision and looked around for the source. There Mulder was, wadding up another snowball and Scully ducked as he tossed this one.

“Mulder!” She cried, as she gathered up snow, and rolled it up into a snowball. “I can’t believe you!”

She launched an assault of her own, peals of laughter following it, because it was unexpected, but not at all unpleasant, and the two of them spent time tossing snow at each other until they were both worn out. The met somewhere in the middle of the trail and reconciled.

“I haven’t done that in years, honestly…” Scully said, in between her laughs. Mulder simply nodded, glad that he’d made her mood more agreeable.

“What did you find out up there?” She finally asked, and Mulder took out a pocket tape recorder and played it back for Scully. It sounded like unintelligible garble, like the way voices sound in reverse. This had Scully’s interest.

“What do you think it is?” She asked, as her and Mulder climbed down the mountain, and towards the station the park rangers were.

“Honestly? I don’t know. It sounds like reverse speech. I want to find out the source, so I’m going to the station to ask about the broadcast signals here. If we find the source, maybe we’ll get some answers.”

“Good idea.” Scully said, brushing off some of the snow from his coat. 


	10. Looking for a Tree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mulder helps Scully with her tree.

In the flooding lights of the entrance to the tree farm, he stood alone with a chainsaw. It was a sight to behold, because his personality did not carry the capacity for violence. The power tool was in stark contrast to everything else she knew about him, and she feared for his safety.

“Mulder, why not use a handsaw? It’s just a Christmas tree.” Scully said, her eyes fixed in fear at the chainsaw and the jagged teeth of the blades. Mulder was about to protest, but the look on her face scared him, and so he exchanged it for a handsaw and shouldered the bundle of rope Scully had been carrying.

“That looks like it would work for you better, son.” The owner said in agreement with Scully. Mulder’s eyes sought hers and when she made eye contact, she held his gaze a little too long, before Mulder looked away and began to head in the direction of the trees. Scully scurried ahead of him, to select a tree.

“Are you going to get one for yourself?” Scully asked, stopping at one in particular and examining it.

“No. I don’t like the way they smell.” Mulder said, watching as she shook the tree and watched the amount of needles that fell out. She moved on to the next one, and Mulder followed after her.

“That’s a shame.” She remarked, shaking the tree and observing the needles. She moved on to another tree, and Mulder followed her.

“This one.” Scully said, examining the needles as Mulder made his way over. He nodded, and used the handsaw on the tree. It fell over, and there was a moment of pure delight that passed over Scully’s features before she moved to see his handiwork. It was a nice, relatively clean cut, and so Mulder handed over the handsaw to Scully and tied the tree up so he could drag it to the entrance of the farm.

 

The hardest part was putting the tree up. It took Mulder a couple of tries, but when he finally got it, he was proud of his work. Scully emerged from the kitchen ready to help but when she saw Mulder had it done, she was impressed.

“Wow Mulder, you did a really great job… I’m amazed. Thank you so much. This means a lot to me. Usually, I would just buy a small one, but this time, I wanted a big tree.” Scully said, handing Mulder a mug of hot chocolate.

“The smell is making me sick, though.” Mulder said, after taking a sip of hot chocolate.

“You don’t like the way it smells? I think that’s the best part!”

“It reminds me of camping with my father. He drank a lot back then.” His words seemed to indicate there was more to it, but he didn’t mention anymore, instead taking a seat on her couch. He threw his arm over the back of the couch. She sat next to him, and almost made a motion to lean into him, so she was against his chest, but she did not, choosing instead to keep a professional distance.

“You know Mulder, I wanted to talk to you about something. I really want you to spend Christmas with me here. I want you to come home with me on the 23rd and stay until the 26th. I don’t have any ulterior motives, I just don’t want you to be spending the holiday alone.”

The offer sat for a while alone on the floor, before Mulder could respond to it properly. He was excited at the idea, but he knew that it was a dangerous prospect. As he thought it over, Scully let herself lean against him.

“Scully, I…” His voice was quiet, and he pulled his arm around her, so they were half cuddling. It felt incredibly comfortable and natural, but he knew he was playing with fire. “Yeah, I’ll stay over.”

Scully made a noise of agreement, and closed her eyes.

“Good.”

There was a ripple of panic that spread through his being; his stomach tightened, and he was hyper aware of the smallest details, like the way Scully’s hair dangled from her forehead, the way she breathed, slowly at first, but then a little quicker as the silence stretched; his heart was beating quickly as well, and then Scully stirred.

“If I’m making you uncomfortable, I can move.” She said, and Mulder stiffened visibly, and the arm he had encircling her enclosed around her slightly tighter.

“No, you’re fine. I was just thinking of how the tree smells. I don’t really like it.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright, I’m just amazed, I guess. It smells terrible but it looks great. Your tree is awesome.”

“How can you call it my tree? You helped me bring it here, carried it and set it up. You even helped me pay for it. It’s  _our_ tree, Mulder.” There was a hint of tenderness in her voice.

“Fine then, it’s ours.” Mulder said with a shrug. Scully pulled away from him and sat up, so she could face him. She was smiling, and he was suddenly reminded of that night in the pizza parlor. So he looked away.

“I should get going…” Mulder mumbled, and he started to get up. Scully’s hand fell on his forearm. He halted, and returned to a sitting position nearby her. She leaned in, as if to kiss him, and then moved for his cheek. She lingered there a couple moments before Mulder pulled away, chuckling.

“What was that for?”

“For helping me with the tree.”


	11. Building a fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not quite what you would expect; Scully finds Mulder in the hospital.

This was probably not one of the smartest ideas he had. The answer the elusive riddle of why people were claiming to be abducted when they weren’t, and what was really happening to them was worth it, though. That’s why he decided to take a trip to the mountains, studying the broadcasting signal to get a fix on where the mysterious broadcast was coming from. His HT was picking it up again, and it droned on numbers; a female, mechanized voice reading numbers that made no real sense to him but somehow, made these people believe they were being abducted. It was definitely an X-File.

He was alone tonight—his partner expressed a desire for ‘some me time’, and Mulder shrugged it off and headed for the mountains alone. He wasn’t too fond of camping, but the possibility of finding out what really was going on appealed highly to him, and so that was his sole motivation.

 

It was dark, save for the small fire outside the tent. It wasn’t an efficient fire, but it was the best he could do given the stuff he did remember from Eagle Scouts. He’d even brought some chestnuts to roast, though that sounded unappealing and boring without anyone to talk to.

His phone scared him when it rang.

“Mulder.”

“Mulder, it’s me. Where are you? I called your home before and you didn’t pick up.” It was Scully.

“I’m up at the mountain again. I really think I’m on to something, I’m waiting to see if Nancy Hartmann will come up to the mountains—she had an appointment for fillings today.”

“You went there all alone?”

“I’m a big boy now, Scully. Besides, the ranger knows I’m up here and—“

“Oh Mulder, I wish you would’ve told me…”

“I did, you told me you were talking some time for yourself.”

“Yeah but… I didn’t think you would really go. Have you seen anything yet?”

“No, not—oh wait. I hear someone coming… I’ll call you back.

 

It was 4 in the morning, and Mulder still hadn’t called back. Scully sat by the phone, and when it finally rang, she picked it up immediately.

“Mulder?” Worried gnawed at her tone as she sat hunched forward, like an animal ready to spring out of bed.

“No, this is Mercy General. Are you Dana Scully?”

“Yes, that’s me…”

“I’m sorry to inform you that Mr. Mulder has been in an accident, and since you’re listed as his emergency contact, I’m calling to let you know that he’s okay now, and if you could bring a change of clothes.”

Scully didn’t hear the rest because as soon as she heard Mulder was in the hospital, she took off for Mercy General, throwing on some clothes in a haphazard manner as she headed for the door.

The hospital was only 20 minutes from her home, and she didn’t have to wait long to see Mulder, because of her badge. When she arrived up to his room, she was surprised to find Mulder awake, and arguing with a nurse.

“Mulder, what’s going on?” Scully asked, and Mulder glanced over, as he was in the middle of putting on his shirt.

“She says I have to stay here overnight for observation but I’m fine…”

“She’s right, Mulder. I’ll stay here, too so you aren’t alone.” Scully said, slipping into a chair nearby. The nurse left the pair alone and Mulder collapsed back into the bed. That’s when she noticed the stitches on his forehead.

“I swear I’m ok. I got hit and fell… I’d called the ranger beforehand to ask for help, and I guess when I didn’t call him back he came looking. Found me bleeding all over the place. I really don’t remember what happened, but the mountain and the broadcast—it’s the key to this whole case. I didn’t find Nancy either. I have to go and find where the signal is coming from, so I can know where everyone goes when they claim to be abducted.” He spoke excitedly, and Scully listened, shaking her head.

“You’re not going to go all by yourself again, I’ll go with you… but honestly, Mulder, I’m sure there’s a simple explanation for all this, and not some huge conspiracy like you think.” Scully said, relaxing into her seat some. She gave a yawn, and Mulder glanced over, taking her in full.

“Oh shit, I’m sorry, I never called you back. Well, I guess it couldn’t be helped. I called the ranger right after you called me and that’s when I had the accident.” There was a brief pause, and then he asked in a quiet tone,

“Are you going to stay here all night?”

“Yes.” Scully reaffirmed, another yawn immediately following her response. She looked exhausted, and Mulder felt terrible.

“Do you want to lay down? There’s enough room for you here as well.” Mulder volunteered, and Scully gave a look of surprise, though it was not critical.

“No thank you.” She said, sitting up taller. Mulder seemed confused, and she figured he didn’t realize the implications of his question; that was very much like him, and that made her smile a little.

“What are you smirking about?” He asked her and she closed her eyes as she replied,

“I’m just glad you’re okay.”


	12. Candy Canes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mulder learns about candy canes.

"So you’ve told me about mistletoe, so where did candy canes come from?" Mulder asked, as he turned the peppermint candy over. Scully watched him, just relieved he was no longer in the hospital. Her eyes drifted up to his forehead and to where the wound he sustained the night prior would have been, if not for his hair, partially obscuring it.

Her answer was not immediate, and when she took a little too long to answer, he glanced over, to find her staring. He smiled at her sheepishly and handed the confection back to her.

"Everything okay?" Mulder asked, and she absently made a grab for the candy cane and touched it to her nose pensively. Her eyes had fallen on his name plate and were unfocused and distant—a sign that she was not all there. Mulder gave her space, and when she finally answered, he had been typing on his computer.

"I was just thinking…" She said, bouncing the candy cane between two of her fingers as her eyes remained unfocused. "You could’ve died yesterday."

"It’s a risk that comes with the job." Mulder said dismissively, returning his attention to the computer screen.  **45**  unread emails.

"You know, I—I know—you don’t—" She paused, and recollected herself, as Mulder returned his attention to her. "I know I’m terrible at expressing my emotions, I was taught to keep silent on them, but I want you to know that I’m glad you’re okay."

Scully used a hand to push her hair out of her eyes and she glanced up at Mulder, her gaze meeting his. “That’s not quite it… What I’m trying to say, is that you scared me, last night. I care about you, Mulder. You’re very close to me and when you didn’t call last night… I was worried something happened. All this stuff about Christmas… it’s not about the gifts, the snow, the candy, the mistletoe… it’s about being with people you love and care about. I want to spend Christmas with you, but Mulder, if you don’t… if you don’t want to, or you don’t feel the same… I wouldn’t want you to fake anything on my behalf. You don’t have to come over.”

The silence that settled between them was heavy and uncomfortable. It was expanding rapidly and displacing them out of the room until Mulder finally said,

"Scully, you’re great and all, and I like working with you, but I think you flatter yourself too much. I wouldn’t pretend to like something for your sake. Since when have I cared about what anyone else thought?" He shrugged, nonchalantly and then added, "I wouldn’t agree to spend Christmas with you if I didn’t really want to."

Scully’s eyes fell to the floor, and she lowered her head slightly to hide the smile that was evident on her features. Luckily, Mulder was preoccupied with the computer and didn’t notice. She cleared her throat after a moment and quietly murmured,

"Thank you."

"It’s not a big deal. I just need you to do one thing for me." Mulder said as he punched the keys on his keyboard obnoxiously.

"What’s that?"

"Could you get rid of that mistletoe in your hallway? I keep dreading it after what happened in the pizza shop. It makes me nervous."

"Why does it make you nervous?" Scully asked, almost a little too innocently. Mulder glanced over to gauge her mood, and when he saw that she seemed to asking in earnest, he returned his attention to the screen once more.

"I’m afraid that I’ll get caught under it with you and we’ll have to kiss again." He said that with hesitation, still unsure of her motive for asking. He tread lightly, if only so he didn’t inadvertently offend her.

"Was it unpleasant for you?" This time, he did not look at her.

"No, but I’m assuming it was for you." He said, visually scanning an email regarding the Secret Santa gift exchange and how giving a vibrating sex toy was considered sexual harassment. Scully did not answer, but it was just as well because the email elicited a chuckle from Mulder.

"Someone’s Secret Santa got them a vibrating dildo… oh man…" Mulder turned the monitor to show Scully before sending the email to print.

"Oh my… who would do such a thing?" Scully said, her tone obviously displeased.

"Who knows. That’s terrible…" Mulder commented, though his tone was halfway between disapproval and satisfaction.

"I hope it wasn’t you." Scully said, noting his smirk. Mulder glanced over to her and grinned wider.

"No, I wouldn’t do something like that to someone I didn’t know. To you, maybe but not anyone else. I ended up getting Agent Izumi one of those uh, y’know, those uh, bath sets. The kind that come in a basket."

"You don’t think that’s a bit too sensual?" Scully asked, in a tone Mulder was not familiar with. He disregarded it.

"It doesn’t matter, I had a coupon for it and finally got around to redeeming it. It was going to be for my mother but apparently, she’s not talking to me again." Mulder said, though his tone was thoroughly dismissive.

"Oh, I’m sorry about that. Well, there’s always New Year's or something…" 

"Yeah," Mulder said, though there was a hint of disdain in his tone, "New Year's."


	13. Hot Chocolate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mulder & Scully spend more time together.

From where he sat on the park bench, the ice looked stable enough to cross. He stared into the frozen lake, thinking about the fish that were trapped beneath the surface and whatever other creatures happened to be unfortunate enough to live in that body of water. It was a sobering thought that brought his mood from barely contained excitement to a sort of sadness. He didn’t even notice the cold, though after a while, he started to.

_I really hate all this Christmas shit. I don’t know why I keep doing this stuff for Scully, when it means jack shit._

His mind wandered to the times he found himself in Scully’s apartment, with an excuse every time. He refused to admit that he found pleasure in her company, perhaps out of guilt, or pride. It didn’t make any difference though, the fact of the matter was that he liked Scully, and as much as he hated to admit it, he enjoyed her company.

“You must love going to the hospital, I can’t imagine why anyone would subject themselves to the cold like this.” A familiar voice said. Mulder glanced over to see Scully, holding cup of some hot liquid. She handed it over and sat next to him on the bench. The rim was stained with her lipstick.

“Hey… how’d you know I would be out here?” Mulder asked, taking a sip of the liquid she’d brought. It was hot chocolate. The warmth and sweetness lifted his mood considerably.

“Because you weren’t home when I went to visit you. Your car was still parked though so I knew you weren’t far. I thought you were probably the store, so I went to go meet you and decided to cut through the park. That’s when I saw you sitting here.” Scully said, brushing her hair out of her eyes.

“Oh, sorry. What did you want?” Mulder asked, handing back the hot chocolate. She took a sip and then handed it back to Mulder.

“Huh?”

“You said you were coming to visit me. How come?”

“Oh, I…” Her gaze was cast off to the side, watching a pigeon circle a half frozen piece of bread before it moved on. “I didn’t really have a reason. I just wanted to come over. I thought maybe we could work on the case. I was thinking the other night… you’ve been really great about the whole Christmas thing, and I know you don’t like it, so I just wanted to tell you I really appreciate that you’re trying. I thought I would return the favor and uh, help you with this case. I thought maybe we could try going up to the mountain again, to look for Hartmann. Unless you had plans… I’m sorry I didn’t call, I just came back from shopping and I figured you didn’t have plans…”

He wasn’t sure how to take her admission, but it meant a lot to him. He stared at the cup, and the stains she left with her lipstick, and his mind wandered back to that night at the pizza parlor, and the other time with the tree.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize…” Scully reached over to wipe her lipstick off, but Mulder caught her hand with his free one.

“No. Leave it. It’s not a big deal. Actually, I kind of like it.” Mulder let go of her hand, and took a sip of the drink once again. It was bizarre; Scully couldn’t understand why he’d done it, but she left it alone.

“Okay, well, what do you say then? Do you mind if I join you?”

“No, I don’t mind. I didn’t really have any plans for today. I actually was thinking about going to see you. Uh, did you eat yet? Maybe we can get lunch at the diner?” Mulder suggested with a tone that implied embarrassment. Scully smiled.

“Sure, that’s fine. You can finish that by the way, I’ll get another at the diner. You look like you could use it more than me.” Scully made a motion to the drink, which he was in the middle of finishing.

“Well, you could always hold my hand since, it’s warm from holding the cup. If you were cold.”

“I’m not that cold, Mulder. You know what I think? If I didn’t know better, I’d say that you were sick. You’ve been behaving very strange lately.” She said as she rose from the bench. He followed suit, his brows knitting with concern over her words.

“How so?”

Scully began to walk, so after dumping the cup, Mulder followed after, intrigued.

“I’m not sure. You’ve been coming over my place a lot lately. I don’t mind—I’m almost never home anyways, but I always got the impression you didn’t like socializing outside of work.”

“I don’t.” Mulder said this quickly, his hands going into his pockets as he walked behind her. She talked over her shoulder to him, which he was grateful for, because underneath his scarf which was fit to cover his neck and some of his face, was a growing blush.

“I didn’t think so. So why are you making an exception for me?”

“I’m not. It’s just… you want me to be in this whole holiday spirit thing so… I’m trying to be.”

She stopped in front of him and turned to face him suddenly, so that he almost walked into her. She smiled at him, and he glanced elsewhere.

“You’re doing a good job, I think.”

Mulder snorted to himself, but was pleased, because he really had been.


	14. Dressing Up as Santa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mulder spends some time at Scully's mother's house with Scully and her sister, Melissa.

Silently, Mulder padded across the floor to his bedroom, and subsequently to his bathroom. When he was finished, he was surprised to find Scully in his bed, fast asleep. He scratched the back of his head before creeping out of the room, around his stuff and over to the couch again. There was an empty bottle of rum on the table, some bottles of water and a couple empty cups surrounding it, and from where he was sitting, he could see the blender was out.

_What the hell happened last night?_

As far as he knew, they’d been drinking last night. That was evident, given the mess they’d left. He tried to remember most of the night: they’d gone out for lunch, they headed up to the mountain, looked for Hartmann, didn’t find her or the radio tower, went back to Mulder’s place, and Scully suggested he try eggnog. He remembered drinking it—a lot of it, actually—and they watched a movie for a while, and then Mulder remembered helping her to his room because she couldn’t walk and then stumbling back to the couch. That made him sigh.

Scully came out of the room wearing one of Mulder’s shirts and a pair of his shorts, and sat next to him on the couch, looking sleepy.

“Morning… Did you sleep okay?” Mulder asked, and she glanced over at him, and then realized quite suddenly she’d spent the night.

“Oh I slept fine, better than you did on this couch, I imagine. I’m sorry for putting you out like that…” She said.

“It’s no big deal, I don’t sleep in my room because it’s too much trouble to navigate, but I’m glad you didn’t care about sleeping in there.” Mulder said with a shrug.

“Hmm, yeah, I guess I didn’t notice last night. We kind of got carried away with the eggnog, didn’t we?” Her tone was light, and pleased even, though there was a hesitation in it. Not much different than his.

“Yeah, I guess we did. How’s your head? I’ve got aspirin if you need.” Mulder mentioned, though Scully seemed to be fine, albeit a bit sluggish. She’d been worried that perhaps they had done something, though from the looks of it, Mulder had been out in the living room all night.

“I’m okay. I actually would love to just kick back and stay but uh, I forgot that I promised my mother I would come over today. Charlie is bringing the children for a Christmas party. If you’re not doing anything, you should come.” Scully said, standing. Momentarily distracted by how she looked wearing his clothes, he was a beat late with his response.

“Will your sister be there?”

“Yes, most likely. She’d be glad to see you again. She asks about you all the time.” Scully mentioned, though her tone seemed to be teasing. Mulder glanced away bashfully, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Yeah, I guess it wouldn’t hurt.” Mulder said.

“In that case, I’m going to hop in the shower here then and change out of your clothes.”

“Well, you can wear one of my shirts if you want. Since you seem to be really comfortable in them.” Mulder said, with a shrug. A light flush painted her cheeks.

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? My sister already thinks we’re sleeping together.”

“Why would she think that?”

“She said that when I was in the hospital, you were there every day. She said that she got the impression we were really close.”

“Yeah, well, she said she could feel your vibes and mine. You know, new age bullshit. I didn’t buy it. So I’d take what she said with a grain of salt.” Mulder said, standing up as well. Scully gave him a pensive look before entwining her fingers in her own hair.

“They say that redheads were persecuted for being witches. I can trace my mother’s line all the way back to colonial America, and one of my great grandmothers was burned as a witch. Didn’t you know? All the women in my family have the gift of prophesy.” Scully said, in a tone meant to be alluring. Mulder blinked, and then said honestly,

“I don’t believe that. I don’t believe any of that. You know after how nice I’ve been to you, you’re still teasing me. Amazing.” Mulder said in a tone that implied he was not happy, though he didn’t seem to be completely serious. Scully gave him a genuine smile and sauntered off for the shower.

When they arrived at Margret Scully’s house, Mulder could just make out the voices of Margret and Melissa.

“Oh Missy, get the door, that’s probably Dana… Maybe she can call her partner up to do something about this…”

Mulder glanced over at his partner who seemed to be just as clueless as she was. The door opened and there Melissa was. When she saw them both, she looked surprised, but gave them hugs and let them inside.

“Mom, she brought Fox here!”

“Oh good, ask him if he wants to do it!” Scully’s mother called from a part of the house yet unseen.

“Missy, what is going on?” Scully asked, removing her coat and hanging it up. Mulder did the same, tucking his scarf into the sleeve of his coat.

“Well, we asked our neighbor to come over and dress up as Santa but it turns out he had an emergency and couldn’t come. Charlie’s kids were really looking forward to meeting Santa, so mom wanted me to ask you if you could maybe persuade Mulder to do it.”

Scully looked over at Mulder, who was already shaking his head.

“Oh what a shame,” Melissa said, in a way that implied disappointment. Mulder cringed and then said quickly,

“No, no, I’ll do it. You guys have the costume?” Mulder asked quickly, and Melissa nodded and left to go get it.

“Mulder, you don’t have to, I know I’m already asking a lot of you just being here.” Scully said, leaning in close to him. He leaned in so he could hear her as well.

“No, it’s okay. I want to leave a good impression with your family, I guess. Especially your sister.” Mulder said.

“Well, she is single…” Scully teased, and Mulder rolled his eyes.

“It’s not like that.” Mulder said, though he didn’t elaborate further. When Melissa came back with the costume, he departed from their company to put it on.

“What made him change his mind?” Melissa asked, watching as Mulder walked away.

“I don’t know. He’s been acting funny lately.” Scully said, heading to the living room with her sister.

“I thought you and him would finally start dating? What happened, didn’t work out?”

“I wasn’t ever planning on dating him. We just work together. That’s good enough for me. I mean, he’s nice but… I don’t think he’s interested in dating, regardless. He’s very um, he’s very focused on his work,” Scully paused and reconsidered what she wanted to say.

“No, you know what? He’s been making an effort to spend time with me, actually. I was over at his house last night and we watched a movie.” Her admission came with a halfhearted shrug, though Melissa knew her sister well enough to know that she was downplaying its significance. So she changed the subject.

“I’m glad you guys came over. Mom’s been a little… well, you know, frizzled out, since this will be our first Christmas without Dad. Dad was going to dress up as Santa for the kids. Bill isn’t coming, since he’s out and Tara is going to be spending time with her family, so it’s just going to be us, mom, Charlie, Jenna, the kids and now Fox.” Melissa said. Scully took a seat on the couch and Melissa followed suit.

“Yeah, I miss Dad…” Scully said quietly. Melissa was about to say something else when Mulder marched into the living room.

“I look like an idiot.” He declared, and Melissa smirked. She leaned over to get the Polaroid off the table, and then made a motion for Scully to stand by Mulder. At first she refused, but eventually caved, and Melissa took their photo.

“This is outrageous. I’m sorry I volunteered. This fake beard is itchy, I’m not round enough, and this suit is slightly too small.” Mulder complained, although Scully had to agree.

“It’s just for a little while. I’m sure once you take some pictures with the kids, and you know, do the Santa bit for a while, you can say you have to leave and then come back in as Fox.”

“That was probably the hardest thing I’ve done in a while.” Mulder said, as he took his boots off in the privacy of one of the guest bedrooms. Scully was leaning against the door nonchalantly, watching him as he spoke.

“You were great though, I think the kids loved it. You were a hero to them.” Scully said, though her tone was jocular in nature. Mulder rolled his eyes and kicked off another boot.

“I’m not going to do that ever again.” Mulder mumbled, unbuttoning the red jacket and removing it.

“You won’t have to. I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy it.” Scully murmured apologetically. Mulder paused while he was halfway through shrugging off the jacket and glanced over at her.

“No, I enjoyed it… It was just hard, I guess. I’m not really good with kids.” Mulder admitted, and by his tone, Scully could tell it was something he thought of often.

“I think you were great.” She said, helping him remove the jacket and hanging it up. He thanked her quietly, and put his fleece over his undershirt once more. When he started to remove his pants, Scully pretended to busy herself with his boots and the jacket to avoid looking in his direction. He continued as though she were not in the room, though she had noticed a long time ago that Mulder had little regard for his own personal privacy in practice and was more protective of the general idea of it.

“I’m surprised that you didn’t tell the children that Santa wasn’t real,” Mulder said as he slipped back into his jeans. When Scully heard the belt buckling she turned around once more. “I mean, I was half expecting you to.”

“They’re children, Mulder, they’re allowed to believe in magic and in aliens. Unlike you.” She said, hanging up the pants as well and putting the boots aside. Mulder stepped into his sneakers and removed the fake beard and handed it to Scully.

“You should try going and leaving from the basement and then coming in through the front, so the kids don’t suspect anything. It’s the door under the stairs.” Scully said.

“Okay.” He hesitated for a moment, and removed the Santa hat, tossing it onto the bed. She collected the hat, but noticed the way he was staring at her, as though he were figuring something out.

“Something wrong?” A look of concern passed her features.

“No, I just realized you’re wearing one of my fleeces, actually. I didn’t think you were serious about wearing my clothes…” Mulder’s voice trailed off enigmatically. Scully gave Mulder a smile to mirror his tone, before sauntering out of the room.


	15. Decorating the Tree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mulder and Scully decorate the Christmas tree together.

“So how’s the tree doing?” Mulder asked when Scully came in for the day. For a moment, she seemed confused, her mind on other things, but she nodded when she worked out the meaning.

“It’s okay. I haven’t had the time to decorate it. I’m probably going to do that tonight. …care to join me?” Scully asked, though she expected Mulder to say no.

“Alright. The heat in my building stopped working while we were out yesterday, and it’s freezing in there. I wouldn’t mind being someplace warm.”

“If that’s the case, you should stay over, I mean, it wouldn’t be fair making you go back home to that cold apartment.”

“If it’s not a bother, then I would appreciate it,” Mulder said, though his tone implied he did not put any special significance in it. “I have these ornaments you can use for your tree if you don’t have any.”

“It’s never a bother. I really do enjoy the company,” She said, careful to imply she meant company in general and not just his. “I spend so much time alone, I’ve thought of maybe getting myself a pet but since we travel so much, I figured that wouldn’t be a great idea.”

“I know what you mean, it’s why I have my fish, actually.”

“Oh, yes, that’s right. I almost forgot about them, though they are just fish… Did you name them?”

“Yeah, I did. Sagan, Hale, Galileo, Rubin, Copernicus & Hawking.” Mulder puffed up proudly, and Scully had to hold back her laughter; it was so incredibly Mulder that she wondered why she expected anything different.

“I see.” She said in a tone that implied she understood and that she found it only a fraction as amusing as he did.

“Well, the question still stands.”

“Oh? What question?” His sudden declaration threw her for a loop until he made a gesture to the ornament box.

“Well, I guess it wasn’t a question, but I did want to know if you had ornaments to put on your tree.”

“I actually do, but I would love to put your ornaments on our tree.” She said this in a tone approaching tender, and emphasized the word  _our_. Mulder ignored the tone.

“Okay.  _Quid pro quo_. Help me with this tape. It’s a recording of the broadcast that was causing people to have a fit. I need help transcribing it.” Mulder said, and Scully settled into the seat across from him.

 

When they got to her apartment, Mulder was rambling on excitedly about the last time his sister and him had helped picked out a Christmas tree.

“Mulder, I don’t mean to interrupt, but those ornaments you have, aren’t they from your mother’s?”

“Yeah, but she doesn’t celebrate Christmas anymore. After Samantha was abducted, it was like time stopped, you know? I had to kind of take care of myself—she stopped caring after a while, and of course my dad was drunk all the time when I was at his place…” Mulder shrugged but Scully realized this was the most she had ever heard Mulder talk about his boyhood. Sensing that they needed a change of topic, she mentioned,

“I hope Skinner doesn’t mind that we both put our notice for vacations late.”

“Knowing him, he’s probably glad. Just think: two weeks without my antics. I’m sure he considers it a vacation, too.”

“I think the real gift is the fact that we planned this at the last possible minute and that it worked out. I must confess, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited for you staying over. Is the couch okay for you? Or would you rather we switch every day?”

“I’m pretty sure we both fit in the bed.”

“We probably do,” Scully said, her cheeks flushing, “but I would sleep better knowing you were comfortable on the couch and not about to fall off the bed.”

“I won’t if you hold me close.” Mulder said, in a teasing tone. Scully rolled her eyes and gathered the box of ornaments.

“You promised you’d help me, so here.” She said, and with an exaggerated groan, Mulder made his way over to her. She handed him the star for the top of the tree.

“You’re tall, please put that on the very top.” Scully requested, and unexpectedly, Mulder lifted Scully instead. She gave a surprised shout, but when she figured what he was doing, she placed the star on the top of the tree. He set her down on the floor gently and continued to add ornaments to the tree as though he had not done anything out of the ordinary. Scully was at a loss for words, but after a moment of watching him, she helped him.

 

“We did a really nice job… thank you so much Mulder. I know you don’t like Christmas, but you’ve been such a great help to me. I really can’t express how grateful I am.” Scully said, looking over at Mulder. Mulder did not glance at her, but he continued to look at the tree, as though mulling over her words. After a lengthy pause, he finally said,

“I never liked Christmas because to me, people always made it about family, and loved ones, and I’ve had so much trouble with mine, that I felt I never really deserved to celebrate it. But these past two weeks made me realize that family isn’t the people you’re related to, but the people you find yourself feeling at home with. So I guess, in a roundabout way, I’m telling you that this whole thing… decorating trees, picking out wreaths and all the things we’ve been doing feels like home to me.”

Mulder turned to face Scully, and Scully found herself looking down, because she knew what he was trying to say, even though he hadn’t explicitly said anything other than that he was enjoying himself. She had felt it that night in the pizza parlor, and all the times they’d spent together after that, but she hadn’t dared to put a name to it so it wouldn’t actualize. But it was there, pressing at the edges of his tone, and looming over the both of them as a truth they wouldn’t admit.

“You have a way of making everything so dramatic.” Scully said softly, but the tone was wrong, and Mulder knew that he had touched a nerve. Scully was smiling, but it was a small, sad smile, and when their eyes met, he could see her slowly rebuilding the wall she had normally had with him.

“It’s only the truth.” He murmured, a shrug implied in his words, but not physically manifesting. Scully pursed her lips, but exited the area, making her way to the kitchen. Mulder took a seat on the couch, and gave a small sigh.


End file.
